March Madness 2019 Betting Guide

The 2019 edition of March Madness commences on March 19th, culminating with the NCAA men's basketball tournament finals on April 8th in Minneapolis. An untimely injury to Zion Williamson of the Blue Devils appears to open a window of opportunity for elite basketball colleges attempting to upset Duke. Will Zion return to lead the Blue Devils to the promised land or will Gonzaga win their first ever March Madness championship?

March Madness games begin on March 19th with the First Four, which determines the first round of the tournament. Selection Sunday will take place on March 17th, seeding the NCAA March Madness bracket. Most sports betting sites list Duke as prohibitive favorites, mostly because of their NBA-worthy talent.

March Madness Odds

NCAA Tournament Favorites

Duke Blue Devils +190

Nike watched more than a billion in stock value disappear while the Blue Devils lost their once-in-a-generation recruit when Zion Williamson’s shoe blew up on court. The phenom suffered a non-permanent knee injury in the aftermath, which may force him to rest for the remainder of the season to protect his NBA career.

Duke will remain strong favorites to emerge as NCAA Tournament champions because of an immense talent base, including surefire lottery pick RJ Barrett. Barrett has what it takes to lift the Blue Devils without Zion, although Williamson has hinted at a strong desire to “finish what he started”. No March Madness club matches the star power of Duke in 2019.

Gonzaga Bulldogs +800

Gonzaga’s program continues to impress, especially coming out of the WCC. They nearly broke through for their first NCAA championship in 2017, dropping the final game against the Tar Heels. The Bulldogs don’t have the flashiest talent – instead, Gonzaga leverages excellent backcourt play and team cohesion into the type of consistency which most teams can’t achieve.

Virginia Cavaliers +850

This might be the best Cavaliers squad in decades. Virginia’s previous appearance in the Final Four was in 1984 and their best showing this decade was a spot in the Elite Eight in 2016. However, the Cavaliers have dominated the ACC, including a conference tournament win in 2018. As long as their seeding holds up, expect a strong tournament from Virginia.

Kentucky Wildcats +1000

The SEC standings feature the Wildcats clashing with the Vols and LSU at the top of the conference. Nonetheless, Kentucky’s considered a bit of a better bet for March Madness, partly because of the steady, experienced guidance of bench boss John Calipari. As usual, the Wildcats are one of the most talented squads in the NCAA, but they’ll need to elevate teamwork and effort levels to have a shot at victory.

Tennessee Vols +1200

Another strong club from the SEC, Tennessee has battled with Kentucky and LSU for conference dominance, remaining in the hunt late in the season. A good sign for the Vols would be the continued success of the club, despite the struggles of Kyle Alexander. If Kyle manages to regain his early season form, the Vols will be a threat to make the Final Four.

North Carolina Tar Heels +1300

Only two years removed from their sixth NCAA tournament championship, the Tar Heels enter the 2019 March Madness tourney on a hot streak, rising to the top of the ACC. Coby White recently became the first freshman in school history with a trio of 30+ games during a clutch win over Syracuse, providing a dangerous threat from the perimeter that few NCAA teams possess. North Carolina’s a solid value at +1300.

Michigan Wolverines +1300

The Wolverines famous program returned to a high level once again during the 2018-19 NCAA basketball season, but a recent slide has placed the spotlight on a sputtering offense which stalls during vital matches – most recently during a loss against the Spartans. Given the fact that defensive intensity rises during March Madness, Michigan needs to figure out a way to kickstart production soon.

Michigan State Spartans +1400

Michigan State is ranked slightly below Michigan in terms of NCAA March Madness odds, but the Spartans recently took care of the Wolverines during a masterful coaching turn by Tom Izzo. This victory vaulted the Spartans into first place in the Big Ten. Guard play tends to win out during the tournament, and the trio of Zavier Simpson, Charles Matthews and Jordan Poole represents as good a guard threesome as you’ll find in the NCAA.

NCAA March Madness Longshots

Since 1998, only the only seeds outside of the top three to win the tournament were the seventh-ranked UConn in 2014 and fourth-ranked Arizona in 1997. First seeds tend to win more often than not, with two and three seeds scooping the occasional upset victory. The following teams should be considered longshots, with most of the clubs likely to fall below the third seed on Selection Sunday.

Nevada Wolf Pack +2200

Kansas Jayhawks +2800

Texas Tech Red Raiders +4000

Villanova Wildcats +5000

Auburn Tigers +5000

Syracuse Orange +5000

Iowa State Cyclones +5000

Marquette +5000

Purdue Boilermakers +6000

Mississippi State Bulldogs +6000

Florida State Seminoles +6000

Houston +6000

Virginia Tech Hokies +7000

Louisville Cardinals +7000

Nebraska +7000

Ohio State Buckeyes +8000

LSU Tigers +8000

Wisconsin Badgers +8000

Buffalo +8000

NC State Wolfpack +9000

Indiana Hoosiers +10000

Florida Gators +10000

Maryland Terrapins +12500

Arizona State Sun Devils +12500

Texas Longhorns +12500

March Madness Picks & Predictions

The NCAA March Madness bracket is one of the toughest to ace in the sports betting world, with odds of predicting a perfect bracket around 1 in 9.2 quintillion. Selecting the winner of the NCAA basketball tournament is far less difficult.

For the 2019 edition of the tournament, Duke appear to be slightly overrated. Certainly, R.J. Barrett and Zion Williamson are sure-fire NBA players with the potential to transcend into stardom, but March Madness tends to be unkind to many teams stocked with one-and-done talent.

Clubs with experienced college basketball players tend to be underrated. Those who have at least one year of experience alongside returning teammates enjoy an edge in team chemistry. Crucially, single elimination basketball tournaments reward teams with a superb fleet of shooters and point guards.

The greatness of Zion and R.J. have overshadowed the rock-solid program of Gonzaga, a terrific roundball college which has experienced the occasional bout of bad luck. A likely number one seed, Gonzaga won’t bump into serious competition until later on in the tourney, giving them a legitimate shot at breaking through with their first-ever March Madness win.

Pick: Gonzaga +800

How to Watch March Madness 2019

The March Madness schedule runs from March 19th to April 8th, with the finals held at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Officially, the NCAA tournament will be broadcast by CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV, including the option of digital streams.

See below the top sportsbooks where you can wager online and choose the best one for you:

For the first time in more than a decade, a pair of clubs from the English Premier League will battle for the right to raise the European Cup at the UEFA Champions League final 2019. EPL rivals Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspur will clash on Saturday June 1st at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid. The road to the final for both clubs required remarkable victories over powerhouse European sides, but the Reds will be touted as the Champions League odds favorites for the final.

The most controversial Kentucky Derby in decades featured a shock victory when Country House was declared the winner due to disqualification, robbing Maximum Security of the first jewel of the triple crown. The Preakness Stakes won't feature either racer - instead, Bob Baffert's Improbable will be considered a strong favorite to make up for a disappointing performance at Churchill Downs. Will the field be able to compete against another Baffert powerhouse?

The 2019 PGA Championships will feature Tiger Woods firing at full capacity, while the rest of the field attempts to prevent the legend from winning the 16th major of his career. Woods enters the tourney as the favorite, but elite golfers like Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka will provide a stiff challenge. Will Tiger fend off the field to continue his remarkable comeback?

The Ultimate Fighting Championship travels to Brazil for UFC 237, where several Brazilian fighters will square off in front of their home crowd. The co-main event on May 11th will feature Namajunas vs. Andrade and Silva vs. Cannonier. This excellent card includes José Aldo and Thiago Alves, two of the most popular fighters in Brazil. UFC 237 odds don’t favor the Brazilians, but fighting in their home country should provide enough of a boost to create upset results.